A new discovery in Denmark has shed light on the war rituals of the germanic tribes of ancient Europe. In a site near the Alken Enge wetlands in East Jutland, archaeologists found four pelvic bones impaled on sticks. These laid within a large bog among human and animal remains.

Specialists date the site some 2,000 years ago - a period in roman history in which the empire was expanding though out Germania. The Germanic tribes maintained a fierce defense in the region, leading to many brutal battles. Roman records report that tribes frequently engaged in brutal war rituals following military exchanges, in which they mutilated the corpses of enemies and flung them into trenches.

The recent finding in Alken Enge confirms these claims, while providing a pointedly bleak picture of war and religion in the ancient world.

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